When she took her ‘bubbly and active’ daughter to the doctor with a pain in her side, mum-of-two Christina Harris knew there was something seriously wrong – but it took multiple trips to get to the bottom of her illness
After complaining about having a sharp pain in her side as well as a fever and breathlessness that came out of nowhere, Christina Harris did what any parent would do and took her daughter to the GP.
However she was not prepared for what was about to come. Doctors told her that her Skye, 10, was suffering from anxiety, but Christina, 46, from Essex, knew that it was unlike her ‘bubbly and active’ daughter and that there was more to it.
Acting on her mother’s instinct, Christina saw that Skye was still in pain, while the fever continued, so she took her to A&E a few days later.
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“Sometimes you just have to go with your instincts when you know something is wrong,” Christina told The Mirror. Determined to know what was causing her daughter to be in pain, doctors then did several scans, including an X-ray and noticed shadowing on Skye’s ribcage.
“They initially thought it may be an infection or something and gave her some antibiotics to clear it up,” Christina recalled. “I hoped this was the case, and we went home with antibiotics.”
But after a few days, and still unsure, Christina rushed her daughter back to A&E after Skye had another temperature in the middle of the night, and she knew deep down her daughter wasn’t getting any better. “You just go into a pilot mode, I was blocking out any type of negative thoughts I was having, and just wanted what was best for my daughter.”
During this visit, doctors then found Skye’s lungs full of mucus. She was diagnosed with pneumonia, which was the reason for her excruciating pain, and after further investigation and more blood tests, it turned out to be something much worse.
On December 7, 2021, the keen dancer was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL), a rare type of blood cancer and was blue-lighted to Great Ormond Street Hospital to begin her chemotherapy treatment. “I knew something wasn’t right, she kept complaining of this pain, even in her sleep, it wasn’t normal,” the worried mum reflected.
“It was scary when they told me she had pneumonia. Obviously I did not anticipate what was to come. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare.”
Christina, a mother of two, sadly lost her job as an estate agent because she needed to support her daughter and became a full-time carer. Her son Marley, 13 at the time, was able to spend time at his dad’s house more frequently as Christina cared for Skye.
“You just know deep down when something isn’t right, but I never thought it would be that Skye had leukaemia, you just have to go with your instincts in these moments and I am so glad I did. When we got the news, I just went into flight mode and I couldn’t think of anything other than the fact my daughter had cancer.
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“I cried so much when we got to Great Ormond Street, but in a strange way, I finally felt safe. I was just so pleased that they had found out what was wrong.” Skye then spent 11 days in Great Ormond Street, where she began her chemotherapy treatment.
“We were at Great Ormond Street multiple times a week, as well as appointments at our local hospital too. She was having such aggressive chemotherapy which went on for six months.
“I had to also make sure I was keeping an eye on her temperature, as if it went to 38 degrees I’d need to rush her to hospital. I knew when she wasn’t right.”
Skye was put on strong antibiotics every time she had a high fever due to her weakened immune system and was having chemotherapy given in multiple ways, including into her thigh, as well as into her spine.
“This type of leukaemia is one of the longest cancer treatments for children and it made Skye really poorly.” Skye finished her treatment after a year, and then moved on to maintenance chemotherapy, designed to help keep cancer from coming back after it has disappeared following the initial therapy.
While she felt extremely unwell during her treatment, Skye said she enjoyed going to Great Ormond Street as she had become friends with all of the doctors and nurses. She was also treated to takeaways and feasted on food when she felt up to it.
Skye said: “I wasn’t at school and I wasn’t making any friends so it was hard, but I got to know all of the nurses and they were really nice to me. It wasn’t a nice experience but I managed to find some joys in between and my mum let me have any kind of food I wanted so we would always get a Nando’s or a Pizza Express.”
Recalling the time spent in hospital, Chrisina said it was “horrendous” and detailed: “It was really hard. You never want this for anyone, let alone your own children and it was really difficult.
“I think you just sort of switch off from everything else and just go into this type of pilot mode. You have to give her everything she needs and I got to a point where I had this diary where I’d tick off hour by hour which medication I was giving her.
“She needed certain medications at exact times so it was a lot to do – I was basically a nurse looking after her. I was trying to just block out any negative thoughts and just focus on giving her what she needed. “The first nine months, when she was having the most intensive part of the treatment, we couldn’t leave the house and the only people that could come in were the nurses.
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“My parents live in Denmark so I was doing it all alone, and my son Marley had to get dropped at his dad’s a lot of the time, especially when Skye needed to be rushed into hospital quickly – even in the middle of the night.”
Skye was finally able to ring the bell on March 30 last year and has been in remission since. She also celebrated with an end of treatment party, something she had been looking forward to for the past three years.
Now 13, Skye is doing really well and says she wants to be a nutritionist at GOSH. She said: “I really want to be a nutritionist, my time in treatment has really inspired me to help others like the way the doctors and nurses have helped me.
GOSH Charity is currently raising £300m to build a new Children’s Cancer Centre at Great Ormond Street, which will help thousands of children like Skye. Skye and her mum Christina say the new centre will be “amazing” for patients like her.